I went to Graeter’s, a first for Indianapolis, on March 4. The location is at 5560 North Illinois Street in a former cleaners building and it just opened on February 11. The service was very prompt and the employees were very friendly, and she happily gave us as many samples as I wanted. Their strawberry and cake batter ice cream were nothing special, but their black cherry chocolate chip was wonderful. Unfortunately, the cashier failed to notify me that a waffle cone costs extra, so a one-scoop black cherry chocolate chip in a waffle cone cost $4.67. Ouch. I DID sign up for a loyalty card while there, so at least I can get free stuff and discounts once in a while. It’s a clean place and has a LOT of options, including sorbets. And just for comparison: at Chris’ Ice Cream in Nora you can get a one-scoop vanilla or strawberry (among other flavors) in a waffle cone for $2, and at Maggie Moo’s in Greenwood Park Mall, you can get a one-scoop strawberry (among other flavors) in a waffle cone for $3.23. Just something to keep in mind. I might go back again, but I’d skip the waffle cone.

I went to East Washington Street last weekend (March 8) to have dinner at Teppanyaki. I also decided to check out Washington Square Mall, because I hadn’t been there since November, and they have the best Aeropostale in town. What I found shocked me. Washington Square Mall is a mix of startup family businesses and national chains. In the four years I’d been shopping there, NONE of the chains had closed, though the startups went in and out like a revolving door. This time, however, multiple chains had closed, including MCL cafeteria, Rack Room Shoes, and BonWorth. I later found out that BonWorth is going down nationally, so I can’t blame the mall for that, but the Indianapolis Star actually did a story on MCL’s closing, and Rack Room Shoes took the mall’s location off their website. I then headed to Cherry Tree Plaza, where Teppanyaki is. I saw that Dots, another clothing store for women, was closing, and Foot Locker was moving into 9729 E. Washington Street, a spot formerly occupied by the east side Comic Carnival location I used to go to. So basically this means the mall is losing four chains, not three, because Foot Locker is fleeing soon. This will also be Foot Locker’s only Central Indiana location NOT in a mall. Even Lafayette Square’s Foot Locker isn’t in the mall. And I also found out Dots, like BonWorth, is going down nationally. So things are changing a bit on the east side.